Sidra Amin batted with a steely drive against India, as she whacked 81 runs off 106 balls that included 10 boundaries.
She didn't have enough help at the other end, as her side fell 88 runs short of their rival's target of 248 for victory in Colombo, all out for 159 in 43 overs.
But it was a statement knock by a batter that generally thrives under the weight of expectations as the cornerstone of Pakistan's line-up.
The innings was an emphatic response from Sidra's first appearance at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025, removed for a first ball duck by a scorching Marufa Akter in-swinger. The experience of getting out that fast was something she had very little familiarty with.
"I feel that in international matches, I’ve never gotten out that quickly ... (not for) many years," Sidra told media ahead of Pakistan's World Cup blockbuster with Australia.
"I just felt like, 'what did I come here to do today?' I felt really bad and sad because I know my team depends on me, and I feel a lot of pressure when I get out early. As a senior batter, and you can even call me the backbone of the team, my coaches and teammates have put a lot of responsibility on me – and I like taking that responsibility. I try to stay calm and composed because I know my game and how to take it forward. The discussion is that, as batters, we need to take more responsibility, stay longer on the wicket, and play the maximum number of overs.
"But the bowling was outstanding, no doubt about that. I also came in a little late, and the ball swung in, took the inside edge, and I got bowled."
Following losses to Bangladesh and then India, it's almost reached the point of desperation at the World Cup for Pakistan. And adding salt to their wounds, their next assignment is reigning champions Australia, a team Pakistan has never beaten in Women's ODIs.
The Aussies' last match was abandoned due to rain, meaning they're yet to play on the Colombo deck; something Pakistan have over their more fancied opponents.
And Sidra is relishing the challenge of playing against an Australian side without weaknesses.
"I think we have an edge on this wicket because we’ve played two matches here," she continued.
"Australia hasn’t. But they have a lot of experienced players and they play cricket all over the world, so I know they’ll assess the conditions very well tomorrow. (They are) a good side, but again, it all depends on how we tackle them and the confidence with which we play. All their bowlers are good, but we’ll try our best. We’ll discuss everything and work hard on the areas that can be improved as a team. They have a lot of seamers, so we’ll focus on batting well against seam bowling in the next game."
A loss to Australia wouldn't mathematically eliminate Pakistan, but it would add almost insurmountable pressure on their push to progress to the knockout stage of the tournament.
